-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Five Somali men were convicted of plotting a hijack at sea and sentenced to five years in prison in the Netherlands , in the first trial of pirates in Europe , a prosecution spokesman said Thursday .

The court rejected their claim that they were innocent fishermen , said Wim de Bruin , a spokesman for Netherlands National Prosecutor 's Office , noting that no fishing gear was found in their boat .

The five were captured by the Danish navy in January 2009 in the Gulf of Aden , off Somalia , after a cargo ship with Dutch Antilles flag was attacked .

`` The ship of the pirates was destroyed by the Danish navy , and the pirates were captured and handed to the Dutch authorities , '' de Bruin said .

The men are Ahmed Yusuf Farah , 25 , Jama Mohamed Samatar , 45 , Abdirisaq Abdulahi Hirsi , 33 , Sayid Ali Garaar , 39 , and Osman Musse Farah , 32 , he said .

They have two weeks to file an appeal , he said , adding that he did not know if they planned to fight their conviction .

They had faced a maximum sentence of 9 to 12 years , he added . The trial of the five opened in Rotterdam District Court on May 25 .

Another suspected Somali pirate is awaiting sentencing in the United States , where he pleaded guilty in May to hijacking and kidnapping .

Prosecutors say Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse led an attack on a U.S.-flagged vessel , the Maersk Alabama , off the coast of Africa last year .

He pleaded guilty May 19 in a New York federal court to felony counts of hijacking maritime vessels , kidnapping and hostage-taking for his role in the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean on April 8 , 2009 .

Muse faces a maximum sentence of almost 34 years behind bars when he is sentenced October 19 .

The pirates who were tried in the Netherlands spent four weeks aboard the Danish navy ship after their capture before being taken to the Netherlands , spokesman de Bruin said .

They were held in pre-trial custody while the court interviewed witnesses from the Danish navy and seamen on the Dutch Antilles cargo ship that was under attack , he said .

Five Dutch defense lawyers represented the suspects , he said .

The trial is the first of its kind in Europe , he said .

Germany will soon try 10 suspected pirates who were captured in the Gulf of Aden earlier this year .

They were arrested after their attempt to board a German cargo vessel , but the Danish navy ended the hijacking and handed them over to the Dutch authorities , Bruin said .

They have since been held in the Netherlands , and Germany requested their extradition about two months ago .

CNN 's Eileen Hsieh contributed to this report .

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NEW : Pirates have two weeks to appeal

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Trial thought to be the first of its kind in Europe

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Suspects captured after attack on ship in January 2009

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They could have been sentenced to 9 to 12 years